Version 1.4.3 Update to @RivalsOfAether overhauls ranking system

Today, Rivals of Aether received a major update that overhauled its ranking system by replacing Ranked Scores, which was originally the primary means of progression in Ranked, with a new system called Ranked Tiers.

Players will now progress through a series of tiers by earning stars, which are awarded to the winners of each ranked set. There are six tiers in total, each of which will have five levels assigned to them (example: you can level up from Bronze 5 to Bronze 4).

Each win initially awards one star, but if you build on a win streak, you can add more than that to your achievements. Even better, if you defeat a player whose tier is higher than your own, you’ll earn an additional star equivalent to the difference in both players’ tiers.

Players cannot lose stars or be de-ranked once they level up their tier. There are six tiers in total: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and finally, Master. When it comes to match-making, players in the first three tiers can only be matched with players from those tiers, and vice-versa (for instance, a Diamond player can only be matched against Platinum, Diamond or Master players).

The new ranking system also introduces new means for players to enjoy their journey to the top, such as an emote system. Before beginning each match, you can share pre-game messages with one another at the character select screen. As you level up your characters by winning matches, you’ll unlock newer messages to use.

Characters’ levels are maxed out at 10. With this new update in effect, all characters will be starting from level 1. The higher their level, the more content you unlock.

As Rivals enters into its fourth season of ranked competition, players will be treated to this refurbished system going forward. The developers also remain hard at work experimenting with solutions for improving the netcode as a whole, but they have opted to release this new ranking system early in the hopes of obtaining community feedback.

Also, as is usually the case with updates, a series of balance changes have been put into effect. The notes as a whole can be reviewed here and below:

Gameplay and Balance Changes

Landing no longer clears the right stick’s buffer. Instead, it turns it into a normal 6 frame buffer instead of the 8 frame right stick buffer.

Tilt stick will no longer allow you to cancel a jab into a backward tilt.

JagoBlake, the author of this article, is an esports enthusiast who just so happens to have a way with words. Whenever he is not scouring the Internet in pursuit of breaking news, he's investing time into his favorite fighting games so as not to appear inadequate in the face of competition. To support his work, follow him on Twitter - @xJagoBlake.

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